Overview

Loughborough University is a top-ten rated university in England for research intensity (REF2014) and an outstanding 66% of the work of Loughborough’s academic staff who were eligible to be submitted to the REF was judged as ‘world-leading’ or ‘internationally excellent’, compared to a national average figure of 43%.

In choosing Loughborough for your research, you’ll work alongside academics who are leaders in their field. You will benefit from comprehensive support and guidance from our Doctoral College, including tailored careers advice, to help you succeed in your research and future career.

Project detail

Tropical freshwater lakes are critical natural systems of global importance, providing vital ecosystem services to some of Earth’s fastest growing and most vulnerable human populations, yet are scientifically under researched. Tropical lakes are excellent natural laboratories in which to study ecological responses to such environmental stressors, both at a community level (e.g. functional and taxonomic biodiversity) and for individual groups or species. In particular, tropical lakes provide exciting opportunities to explore evolutionary processes for keystone aquatic organisms. Daphnia spp. (water fleas) are ideal for such studies as they have both fast generational turnover, and produce eggs in protective cases, which can be hatched from seedbanks in lake sediments.

This PhD will address these questions in the lake-rich region of equatorial western Uganda, where there are ~100 crater lakes, together comprising a globally important ecoregion and acting as a natural aquatic laboratory, within landscapes often heavily impacted by human activity. This project combines contemporary limnology, ecology, and palaeolimnology (and specifically experimental ecology, genomics and potentially “resurrection ecology”) across a suite of contrasting crater lakes in western Uganda. The aim is to characterise aquatic ecological response to environmental change over the last c.100-150 years. Outcomes of this project will shed new light on evolutionary responses of keystone aquatic species to environmental perturbations (e.g. climate change, eutrophication) with wide applicability.

Funding

The studentship is for 3.5 years and is intended to start in October 2019 and provides:

a tax free stipend of £14,777 per annum (in 2018/19) for the duration of the studentship

tuition fees at the UK/EU rate

research training support grant of £8,000

Please note that due to restrictions imposed by the funder only students with a UK/EU fee status will be considered for this position. Further guidance about eligibility is available at UKRI Terms and Conditions.

Find out more

For further information on this project, please see the main CENTA website.

Entry requirements for United Kingdom

Applicants will need to hold, or expect to gain, at least a 2:1 degree (or equivalent) in Geography, Biology, Earth Science or Environmental Science. A Master’s degree and/or experience in a related area associated with the research will be an advantage.

Afghanistan

First-class honours (70%)

Upper second-class honours (60%)

Lower second-class honours (50%)

Afghanistan

95%

85%

70%

Albania

First-class honours (70%)

Upper second-class honours (60%)

Lower second-class honours (50%)

Albania

9.5

8.5

8

Armenia

First-class honours (70%)

Upper second-class honours (60%)

Lower second-class honours (50%)

Armenia - percentage

90%

80%

70%

Armenia - GPA

3.9

3.5

3.0

Austria

First-class honours (70%)

Upper second-class honours (60%)

Lower second-class honours (50%)

Austria

A (or 1.5) mit Auszeichnungbestanden

60% or B or 3.0 (or 2)

50% or C or 2.7 (or 3)

Barbados

First-class honours (70%)

Upper second-class honours (60%)

Lower second-class honours (50%)

Barbados - classification

1st

2:1

2:2

Barbados - letter grading

A

B (or 75%)

C (or 55%)

Barbados - GPA

3.6

3.0

2.0

Benin

First-class honours (70%)

Upper second-class honours (60%)

Lower second-class honours (50%)

Benin

18

15 or Bien

12 or Assez Bien

Bolivia

First-class honours (70%)

Upper second-class honours (60%)

Lower second-class honours (50%)

Bolivia

85/78

75/66

67/55

Bosnia and Herzegovina

First-class honours (70%)

Upper second-class honours (60%)

Lower second-class honours (50%)

Bosnia and Herzegovina

10

9

8

Botswana

First-class honours (70%)

Upper second-class honours (60%)

Lower second-class honours (50%)

Botswana - master's degree

A or 80%

B or 70%

C or 60%

Costa Rica

First-class honours (70%)

Upper second-class honours (60%)

Lower second-class honours (50%)

Costa Rica

9

8 or 80 or Notable

7.0 or 70 or Sufficiente

Dominican Republic

First-class honours (70%)

Upper second-class honours (60%)

Lower second-class honours (50%)

Dominican Republic

3.8

Magna Cum Laude 3.5 or 85%

Cum Laude 3.2 or 82%

El Salvador

First-class honours (70%)

Upper second-class honours (60%)

Lower second-class honours (50%)

El Salvador

8.5 or 85%

7.5 or 75% or Muy Bueno

6.5 or 65% or Bueno

Estonia

First-class honours (70%)

Upper second-class honours (60%)

Lower second-class honours (50%)

Estonia

5 or A

4 or B

3 or C

Ethiopia

First-class honours (70%)

Upper second-class honours (60%)

Lower second-class honours (50%)

Ethiopia - master's

A/GPA 4.0

A/GPA 3.5

B/GPA 2.8

Georgia

First-class honours (70%)

Upper second-class honours (60%)

Lower second-class honours (50%)

Georgia

5 (95%)

4.5 (85%)

4 (75%)

Grenada

First-class honours (70%)

Upper second-class honours (60%)

Lower second-class honours (50%)

Degree from University of West Indies - classification

1st

2:1

2:2

Degree from University of West Indies - letter grading

A

B or 75%

C or 55%

Degree from University of West Indies - GPA

3.6

3.0

2.0

Guatemala

First-class honours (70%)

Upper second-class honours (60%)

Lower second-class honours (50%)

Guatemala - Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala

-

80%

60%

Guatemala - private university

-

85%

70%

Guyana

First-class honours (70%)

Upper second-class honours (60%)

Lower second-class honours (50%)

Guyana - master's

-

Pass with distinction or GPA 4.0

-

Hungary

First-class honours (70%)

Upper second-class honours (60%)

Lower second-class honours (50%)

Hungary

5

4

3

Iceland

First-class honours (70%)

Upper second-class honours (60%)

Lower second-class honours (50%)

Iceland

8.5

7.5

6.5

Ivory Coast

First-class honours (70%)

Upper second-class honours (60%)

Lower second-class honours (50%)

Ivory Coast

16

14 (Bien)

12 (Assez Bien)

Jamaica

First-class honours (70%)

Upper second-class honours (60%)

Lower second-class honours (50%)

Jamaica - the University of West Indies or degrees accredited by UCJ and CCCJ

1st (GPA 3.6)

2:1 (GPA 3.0) or B

2:2 (GPA 2.0) or C

Latvia

First-class honours (70%)

Upper second-class honours (60%)

Lower second-class honours (50%)

Latvia

9

7

6

Liberia

First-class honours (70%)

Upper second-class honours (60%)

Lower second-class honours (50%)

Liberia - master's

4.0 or 90%

3.5 or 85%

3 or 80%

Mauritius

First-class honours (70%)

Upper second-class honours (60%)

Lower second-class honours (50%)

Mauritius

1st or 70%

2:1 or 60%

2:2 or 50%

Nepal

First-class honours (70%)

Upper second-class honours (60%)

Lower second-class honours (50%)

Nepal - master's (after 3 year bachelor degree)

90% or 3.9 GPA

80% or 3.8 GPA

70% or 3.3 GPA

Nicaragua

First-class honours (70%)

Upper second-class honours (60%)

Lower second-class honours (50%)

Nicaragua

-

80%

70%

Panama

First-class honours (70%)

Upper second-class honours (60%)

Lower second-class honours (50%)

Panama

91 (A)

81 (B)

71 (C)

Papua New Guinea

First-class honours (70%)

Upper second-class honours (60%)

Lower second-class honours (50%)

Papua New Guinea

1st

2:1

2:2

Paraguay

First-class honours (70%)

Upper second-class honours (60%)

Lower second-class honours (50%)

Paraguay

-

4

3.5

Senegal

First-class honours (70%)

Upper second-class honours (60%)

Lower second-class honours (50%)

Senegal

-

14/20 or bien

12/20 or Assez Bien

Serbia

First-class honours (70%)

Upper second-class honours (60%)

Lower second-class honours (50%)

Serbia

9

8.25

7.5

Sierra Leone

First-class honours (70%)

Upper second-class honours (60%)

Lower second-class honours (50%)

Sierra Leone - classification

-

2:1

2:2

Sierra Leone - percentage grading

-

60-69%

50-59%

Sierra Leone - letter grading

-

B+

B

Slovakia

First-class honours (70%)

Upper second-class honours (60%)

Lower second-class honours (50%)

Slovakia

1.5 or B

2.0 or C

2.5 or C/high D

Sweden

First-class honours (70%)

Upper second-class honours (60%)

Lower second-class honours (50%)

Sweden

-

Overall grade of VG with a minimum of 90 credits at VG

Overall grade of G with a minimum of 90 credits at G

Tajikistan

First-class honours (70%)

Upper second-class honours (60%)

Lower second-class honours (50%)

Tajikistan

-

4.5

4

Trinidad and Tobago

First-class honours (70%)

Upper second-class honours (60%)

Lower second-class honours (50%)

Trinidad and Tobago - University of the West Indies or degrees accredited by ACTT

1st

2:1

2:2

Uruguay

First-class honours (70%)

Upper second-class honours (60%)

Lower second-class honours (50%)

Uruguay

10/12

8/12 or MB or 90%

6.5/12 or B or 80%

Zambia

First-class honours (70%)

Upper second-class honours (60%)

Lower second-class honours (50%)

Zambia - master's

-

B+ or 3.5 or 70%

-

Zimbabwe

First-class honours (70%)

Upper second-class honours (60%)

Lower second-class honours (50%)

Zimbabwe

-

65%

60%

English language requirements

Applicants must meet the minimum English Language requirements. Further details are available on the International website.